“I Thought I Was a Trailblazer – Turns Out I Was Just Gay”: Comedian Will Owen speaks to Cultural Dose

In Looking Fab At Fifty, comedian Will Owen explores perception, identity, and the fallout of being mislabelled a Jessie J fan on national radio. Building on the success of his 2024 Fringe debut, Owen dives into avoidant tendencies, early coming out, and the emotional perils of anecdote-based comedy, all with his signature mix of charm, wit and self-deprecation. We spoke to him ahead of his Fringe run to find out more about the show, whats changed for him and whats coming next.

Tell us a bit about Looking Fab at Fifty?

Last year, I had a traumatic experience as a caller on BBC Radio 2, where I was falsely profiled as a Jessie J fan. It really made me question the gap between who I think I am, and how I’m perceived by others. The show explores that, and also being gay and avoidant, but I prefer to mention the Jessie J stuff first, on account of being avoidant. 

This is your second year at the Fringe - what’s changed for you, both as a performer and as a person?

Everything and nothing! End of interview. Last Fringe I definitely became a much better performer. I think I had a very fixed vision of like, the show will be the show and it won’t diverge from that. But it naturally evolved over the course of the month, adding details and taking bits away. So this year I’m coming with a more open-mind I think, and trusting the process. Having said that, writing the show has still been agony at points, and I definitely thought it would be easier second time around.

You came out young and had a relatively smooth experience with your family - but didn’t grow up around many other gay people. How did that shape your sense of identity early on?

Sadly, it made me think I was a true original. I thought I was a trailblazer, queer icon, young Harvey Milk. I should have twigged when I saw so much of myself in Kurt from Glee, but no. It meant identity was at the forefront of my mind a lot, when really I had so much stuff in common with other people, and I could have spent that time developing some other personality traits. 

How do you find telling personal stories on stage?

I love it. I think because truly no one is asking me to do that, it would be kinda psycho if I found it anything else. It can be painful, but only really in the moments when I realise something I thought was a Pulitzer-winning piece of memoir is actually just a bang average story my close friends were clearly pretending to find interesting when I first told it.

What do you hope comes next for you after Fringe?

The thing is, I’d love to do all the more typical stuff that comes out of Fringe - touring, developing some scripts maybe - but I also love how far-reaching and random the opportunities in this business could be. I’d love to interview a celebrity. I’d love to write a musical. I’d love to be a contestant on Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters. Honestly, I’m up for anything. 

Will Owen’s Looking Fab At Fifty will be at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.

For tickets and more information, visit: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/1033-will-owen-looking-fab-at-fifty